MONROE — Wind and rain are being blamed for breaking a four-year stint in attendance growth at the 2015 Evergreen State Fair, which closed Monday.
This year, 321,322 people came to Snohomish County’s largest annual event at the fairgrounds along U.S. 2 in Monroe. That’s down about 4 percent from the average fair attendance during the past five years.
“We’re a lot like the farmers who come here,” fair manager Hal Gausman said. “We’re very dependant on the weather.”
Until this year, the number of fairgoers in Monroe had increased by about 2 percent every year since electronic ticketing was implemented in 2011, Gausman said. In 2014, 348,628 people visited.
The 2015 fair started with nice weather and two days of record attendance. On Aug. 27, opening day, 30,827 people showed up, followed by 27,059 the next day.
But attendance dropped to 18,833 with the windstorm and rain Aug. 29, Gausman said. That’s well below the average of about 30,000 people on a Saturday, Gausman said.
“We survived the storm of the summer,” he said. “I was surprised we had the attendance we did … Some people were calling to ask if we had power because they wanted to eat something warm.”
However, Gausman said, he believes power outages in many communities and fallen branches on the roads caused fewer people to come out.
Because Labor Day and consequently the fair came later this year, families getting kids ready to go back to school may have contributed to the decreased attendance, Gausman said. Last Thursday, “kids day,” had the fewest fairgoers, with 13,955 visitors.
When the weather improved the fair saw the highest number of people ever with a record 52,095 in attendance Saturday. The previous record was set in 2014 with 46,273 fairgoers.
Snohomish County spends about $2.5 million annually to put on the fair. In 2014, it ended up with about $1.1 million in revenue after covering costs of running the fairgrounds year-round. That money goes to improvements on site.
Gausman said staff will be crunching the 2015 fair numbers for the next few days. Despite the lower attendance, he expects to have some money after expenses are covered to complete upgrades to the grounds.
The Evergreen State Fair is preparing to compete with the Washington State Fair in Puyallup in 2016.
The Monroe fair has long been held during the 12 days leading up to Labor Day. But beginning next year, Puyallup will kick off its fair on the Friday before the holiday weekend and continue through Sept. 25.
Organizers are adding extra days after a study showed other major fairs had successfully extended their runs, according to information about the change posted on the Puyallup event’s website.
Gausman said many longtime Evergreen vendors will not be able to return to Monroe in 2016 because of Puyallup changing its dates. The Monroe fair still has a long list of vendors wanting to sell food and products, he said.
Fair staff also is considering offering vendors shorter contracts in hopes of retaining some of them for at least part of the fair.
Organizers also are working with the Monroe Police Department to find ways to alleviate traffic on U.S. 2 by improving the way the fairground’s parking lots are managed. If the fair were easier to get to, perhaps more people would come, Gausman said.
The staff is not considering changing dates of the Monroe fair because it has traditionally been a 12-day event, ending on Labor Day, he said. Instead, Gausman plans to give Puyallup a run for its money with increased marketing and more attractive entertainment in Monroe.
He wants the Evergreen State Fair to continue its agricultural focus and ensure it doesn’t become overly commercial.
“We’re trying to protect the character of our fair,” Gausman said. “We’re going to see how next year goes.”
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.
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